Casanova
by Beccabo
Summary: The BAU is on their home turf as they help the DC Metro Police Department find a killer who calls himself 'Casanova'. But the lead detective on the case is not happy to have them around, until one of their own becomes a victim. Hotch/OFC
1. Prologue

**Hello CM fans! This is not my first fic, but it is my first Criminal Minds fic. I have recently become a fan of the show and just couldn't resist writing a fic! Since I am new to the genre, please forgive my lack of knowledge about crime scenes and police procedures, etc. I'm just going off of what I have seen on cop shows...and I've seen plenty of them! **

**This will be a mystery/adventure fic, but what's a good adventure without a little romance? For Hotch, of course! His new lady love will be introduced in this chapter. You may be slow to warm up to her, but I have been pretty successful with OFC characters before so I hope that streak continues with Dani. **

**Please read and Review...it keeps me going! Enjoy...**

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**Prologue**

___**"Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself." ~ **James Anthony Froude _

_"We've got her!"_

_"Over here!"_

_"Detective Callahan, we found her."_

D.C. Metro Detective Dani Callahan moved through the thick brush of Rock Creek Park, running swiftly along the uneven terrain. She made her way through the throngs of police officers, park rangers, search and rescue team members, and search dogs like a woman on a mission. Because she was.

A woman on a mission.

And since they were back in these woods, she was failing miserably.

The beautiful young woman was tied to a tree, her face and body so badly beaten that she was barely recognizable. Her neatly styled blond hair had been chopped off and she wore nothing but a torn and tattered old nightshirt that obviously didn't belong to her. But Dani recognized this woman. She would know her anywhere. She would know any of them. She just didn't want to find them like this.

A lock of the detective's bright red hair had escaped from beneath her cap and she hastily pushed it back behind her ear as she moved toward the body so that she could take a closer look.

"Which one is she?"

"Carrie Ann Southard." Dani replied, not even sure which cop had asked the question. "Med student at GW. 23 years old. Went missing from a club downtown three weeks ago."

_"How can she tell?"_

Dani heard the whispers behind her and did her best to ignore them.

"She can tell."

The homicide detective felt the presence of her partner, Detective Mickey Santos, next to her before she actually saw him. He moved expertly around the tree and the body, searching for the one thing Dani couldn't bring herself to locate. Not yet, anyway.

"Does she have the mark?" Dani asked quietly, her eyes never leaving Carrie's face.

"Back of her neck." Mickey replied grimly.

"Shit."

Dani closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them again, her composure intact. Turning to her team, she commanded in a clear voice, "Don't touch anything until Crime Scene gets here…but as soon as they are finished, cut her down. I don't want her up there on display any longer than she has to be."

Without another word to Mickey or anyone else, Dani headed off down the hill they had all just traveled up. She had a notification to make. The worst part of the job. Carrie Ann's parents lived in suburban Alexandria and the drive would give her time to clear her head.

"Dan!"

Dani turned around to see her brother and fellow detective, Tommy Callahan, coming down the hill toward her.

"Slow down, champ!" He told her, catching up to her. "I was calling to you. Didn't you hear me?"

Shrugging, she answered dismissively, "I've got a lot on my mind. Sorry."

He studied her closely for a moment, but didn't say a word. He knew better. Instead he held out the evidence bag that had been handed to him by one of the uniformed cops and told her, "You've got a love letter."

"Addressed to me?"

Dani snatched the letter from him and the tall detective watched his kid sister's face as her eyes scanned the piece of evidence. The sky chose that moment to open up and the rain that had been holding off all morning suddenly came down in a torrential downpour.

"Damn it, we're going to lose our evidence!" Tommy swore, looking up to where his men were taking every precaution they could to protect the body without damaging any of the evidence themselves. But instead of going to supervise, he stayed close to his sister. He was on strict orders to do so…from a cpuple of sources. And neither one of them were men he wanted to mess with. From the bottom of the hill, he continued his tirade, "Where is the damn CSU team? They were supposed to be right behind us!"

But Dani didn't seem to hear him, or feel the rain, or even notice the chaos that was beginning to engulf the crime scene. She never took her eyes off the plastic encased letter in her hands. The rain poured down and was running off the brim of her cap, making a dull tapping noise as it landed on the evidence bag. Suddenly, the red head looked up to the sky and screamed "Son of a Bitch!!" as she pulled off her cap and threw it down in frustration.

Cops all around paused for only a moment, but then quickly got back to what they were doing as if nothing happened. This case was bringing them all to the brink of insanity. And the usually cool and collected Detective Mary Daniella Callahan was no exception.

Tommy gave her a minute before he asked quietly, "Dani?"

Taking a deep breath and reigning in her emotions, Dani pasted a fake smile on her pink lips and assured her worried brother, "You know me and the rain. I hate getting wet." Running her free hand through her curly wet tresses, she added sarcastically, "I just can't do anything with this hair when it's wet."

Tommy returned her smile, but didn't mask the look of concern on his face. Dani, looking tired, began walking back to the truck with the note and instructed her brother, "I need you to take this to the lab yourself, Tom. It may be the only evidence he left that we can use because of this rain. Call me as soon as we get an evidence report or something from the ME…whichever happens first."

"Where are you going?"

"To the Southard's." She informed him tiredly. "I told them that I would let them know the minute we had any information." Looking back up the hill at the body, she added dryly, "Well, we've got some information."

"Take a uniform with you." he said quickly, the big brother in him replacing the cop in him.

She shook her head and handed the evidence bag back to him as she said, "We need everyone here…combing the area. The only tire tracks around here are from our vehicles, so Carrie Ann had to come from somewhere."

Tommy nodded in agreement as he watched her climb into her truck and shut the door behind her. A thought suddenly struck him and he motioned for her to roll down the window.

"This is the second body with his mark, Dan." He reminded her slowly. "This makes it a serial."

"I know." she snapped at him, immediately sorry for her behavior.

But Tommy didn't care. He'd known her long enough to know that she didn't take bad news well. Taking a deep breath, he added, "Remember what Jacobi said? If it's a serial…he's calling in the Feds."

"Shit." Dani repeated again, starting up the truck. "That's all I need."

"I've heard good things about the BAU." Tommy tried to reason with her, knowing instantly that it would be no use. "They caught that militia group in New York and the Boston Reaper…"

"I don't care, Tommy." Dani spat out, narrowing her eyes at him as she put the truck in gear. "This is my case."


	2. Chapter 1

**So, we had to have a mandatory conference room scene. It just gives a little background on the case. I hope it makes as much sense in print as it did in my head! But not too much...can't give everything away in Chapter 1! I'm not thrilled at how I wrote Reid in this chap...he's just smarter than I am! So I apologize in advance to any Dr. Reid fans! **

**Enjoy...**

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**Chapter One **

"_Love is as much of an object as an obsession, everybody wants it and everybody seeks it, but few ever achieve it, those who do, will cherish it, be lost in it, and among all, will never...never forget it." ~_Curtis Judalet

"Seven women have gone missing from the D.C. area going back about 6 months."

Once again the agents of the BAU were gathered around the conference room table viewing a file handed to them by Agent JJ Jareau. Circling the room, she hit the remote control and brought the photographs of seven beautiful women onto the big screen.

"All beautiful, all successful in their respective fields…but that is where the similarities end." JJ said grimly as the team looked up at the beautiful faces smiling down upon them. "All seven have different careers, live separate lives, were abducted from different locations around the city at various times of day. The lead detective on the case…" The blond agent leaned down to check her notes, "…Danny Callahan, did a lot of thorough investigating and there was no crossover anywhere. These women hardly had anything in common…they didn't even go to the same dentist."

Hitting a button on the remote, JJ changed the picture on the screen to a split screen shot that showcased only two of the previous seven women. "Two of the abducted women have now been found dead. Allison Stewart, a 27 year old financial advisor, was found three weeks ago. And this morning, they found Carrie Ann Southard…23 year old medical student at George Washington University. Both were found in Rock Creek Park, but in separate locations. Both women were badly beaten, had their hair chopped off, and were tied to trees in remote areas of the park. They did a rape kit on Carrie Ann and are waiting for the results, but Allison's body showed signs of repeated sexual assault when it was autopsied."

"How were the bodies discovered?" Section Chief Agent Aaron Hotchner asked, never taking his dark eyes off the case file.

"The first, Allison, was found by a group of adventurous campers out for a late winter hike in the park." JJ responded, looking around the room carefully. "Carrie Ann's body was discovered by a park ranger making his rounds of the area early this morning."

"So he made no attempt to hide them." Agent Derek Morgan deduced, standing up to study the photographs on the closer. "It's like he wanted them to be found."

"According to Detective Callahan's notes, neither Allison nor Carrie Ann were the first women abducted." Agent Doug Rossi noted, leafing through the case file. "A woman named Theresa DeMarco was the first woman taken, but her body has not turned up."

"Yet." Agent Hotchner remarked dryly. "But it does seem like there is no pattern to the killings…no sequence."

"Like he simply abducts them and kills them when he is done with them." Agent Spencer Reid chimed in, also studying the case file closely. "And then leaves the bodies for the police to find. But this woman here, Leslie Rosenthal, was abducted only two days after Allison's body was found," he continued, a look of thorough concentration on his young face. "It's like he's rotating out his victims…he kills one and then has a spot to fill so he abducts another woman to take her place."

"And then puts the one he killed on display," Agent Emily Prentiss breathed, watching as JJ changed the images to show crime scene photographs of how each of the women were found in the park. "As if to taunt the police with what he has done to them."

"With Carrie Ann's body, the unsub got personal with Detective Callahan," JJ remarked, changing the image on the screen once more. "He left a note addressed to the detective on the second body and signed it '_Casanova_'."

"The great lover?" Agent Emily Prentiss asked, squinting to read the barely legible handwriting on the note.

"_I begin by declaring to you, Dani, that, by everything good or bad that I have done throughout my life, I am sure that I have earned merit or incurred guilt, and that hence I must consider myself a free agent...Despite an excellent moral foundation, the inevitable fruit of the divine principles which were rooted in my heart, I was all my life the victim of my senses; I have delighted in going astray and I have constantly lived in error ... my follies are the follies of youth." _Agent Reid read from the screen, standing up to get a closer look. _"As for women, this sort of reciprocal deceit cancels itself out, for when love enters in, both parties are usually dupes." _Turning to look at his colleagues, Reid informed them, "Those are the opening words of Giacomo Casanova's memoirs. He changed a few words and added the detective's name to the first line, but that is definitely the beginning of _Histoire de ma vie_, which was written in French instead of his native Italian. Casanova once said that he wrote the memoirs in French because it was a more widely known language than Italian…"

"What is this mark?" Hotch interrupted, pointing to a scripted letter "C" with a dramatic flare finish at the base that was located where the closing of a letter would usually be.

"It may be his signature," JJ informed them, bringing up the photo of the mark Hotch was referring to. "They found one on Allison's left shoulder and another on the back of Carrie Ann's neck…"

"Like the way you would brand cattle," Rossi remarked, shaking his head. "How was it made?"

"Looks like he carved it," Prentiss said, showing Rossi an image from one of the girl's necks. "It's scabbed over…so he probably carved it as soon as he abducted them."

"To mark them as his own." Rossi agreed.

"It seems that he is getting bolder, like he wants the police to know who he is. The letter to the detective, leaving Carrie Ann to be found in the morning, when he knows the rangers will be patrolling the area." Morgan deduced, leaning back and crossing his arms over his muscled chest. "Almost as if he is annoyed that they haven't figured him out by now."

"Well, let's help them figure him out before he abducts another young woman," Hotch announced, standing up and signaling that the meeting was over. "JJ, get the names to Garcia and have her run complete background checks on all of these women...just in case there is some connection that the detectives missed. And then call Metro P.D. and tell them that we'll be there first thing in the morning."

**A/N - The information about Casanova's memoirs came from Wikipedia.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_"People often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike."_ ~ Alexander Hamilton

Metro Police Lieutenant Martin Jacobi hung up his telephone for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning and glanced out the window of his office. Not the outer window that connected him to the world outside of District Headquarters, but the one that looked down onto the bullpen below. The shift was just changing over and there weren't too many of his detectives milling around. Most were either on their way in or on their way out.

Except for one.

The one that was always there.

Detective Mary Daniella Callahan stood in front of the Victim's Board and stared hard at the photographs of six young women with the words "MISSING" written under their headshots. One of the girls had the word "DECEASED" written under her photo. But her picture remained up with the others as a constant reminder to Dani and every other member of the squad that they had to do a better job of finding these women.

And the son of a bitch who was killing them.

It wasn't an unfamiliar scene to Lt. Jacobi. Dani had caught the case when the first of the women had gone missing sixteen weeks ago. Theresa DeMarco…a speech writer for one of those environmental activist groups on Capitol Hill. She didn't show up for dinner with some girlfriends one night and then was a no show for work the next morning. Theresa was gone less than 24 hours before Dani and her partner, Mickey Santos, started working the case. That was six months ago. At that time, no one knew what was to come. Especially not the redheaded detective who had to keep adding pictures of other young women to the board.

But something _was _different this time. This time Jacobi watched as Dani erased the word "MISSING" from underneath Carrie Ann Southard's photograph and hesitated for only a moment before writing the word "DECEASED".

Stepping back from the board, the beautiful young detective studied the women's faces again. She had memorized everything about these girls…their names, their faces, their family backgrounds, their education and career achievements, their social habits…looking for some kind of clue in helping her find them. But every lead turned into a dead end and every spark of hope was distinguished quickly as the days and weeks grew longer and the clues grew scarcer.

Feeling as if someone were watching her, Dani turned her head to see the tall, distinguished black man she had come to love and respect watching her closely from the doorway to his office. He had been doing that a lot lately, so she usually just let him and didn't make a big deal of it. He had a lot invested in her…he had known her since the day she was born. Lieutenant Martin Jacobi and her father had served the Metro Police Department as partners for as long as Dani could remember, until her father's retirement a few years earlier. When Dani had been assigned to Jacobi's squad three years ago, her old friend made it quite clear to her that she would be receiving no special treatment from him. She was just another one of his detectives.

And Dani knew in her heart that he tried to live up to that promise. But most days he failed miserably.

Because no matter how hard he tried, Dani would never be just another detective to Martin Jacobi. She would always be Frankie's little girl. Dani had resigned herself to the fact that she was just going to have to live with that until the day Jacobi retired. And most days she could. But lately it had really been grating on her nerves. Especially today.

The pair stared hard at each other for a minute before Dani was the first to look away and sat back down at her desk. She opened a folder that just happened to be sitting on top of one of the numerous piles and stared at a picture of the symbol carved into the shoulder of Allison Stewart…the same symbol on their current victim, Carrie Ann Southard.

Casanova.

That son of a bitch.

"Is that the same shirt you were wearing yesterday, Dani-girl?"

Dani looked up to see her partner, Mickey Santos, standing next to her and smirking down at her. She rolled her eyes as he continued, "Now with anyone else in the world, I would assume it was because you got laid last night and had to wear the same clothes to work, but with you…"

Mickey shook his head in mock amusement and whistled through his teeth before saying, "It's such a waste. A woman who looks as good as you spending her nights here alone with case files instead of a…"

"It's a clean shirt, Mickey." Dani interrupted, tiring quickly of his lighthearted teasing. "For such a good detective, you really don't have an eye for details…do ya?"

Laughing heartily as he flopped down behind his desk across from hers, he continued by saying, "Anita wants me to tell you that she has another guy to set you up with…"

Dani groaned and dramatically put her head down on her desk at the mention of Mickey's matchmaking wife, Anita Santos. Anita was a lovely woman and a good friend of Dani's who really did have her best interests at heart, but…

"This is one is a lawyer for some big firm on…"

"I hate lawyers." Dani informed him quickly, getting up from her desk and heading over to the coffee cart to pour herself a cup. From what she had already heard about the day ahead of them, she was going to need it.

"That's what you said about the Fed that she wanted to set you up with last time…"

"I hate Feds, too." the redhead called over her shoulder, stirring the requisite cream and two sugars into her coffee. "Want some coffee?"

He nodded in response and then picked up the baseball signed by Don Mattingly that usually sat on her desk. As he began to toss it up in the air, he asked, "Remind me again…do you actually like men?"

"I like you." she replied saucily, smiling for the first time all morning.

"Well, I'm taken." he shot back with a grin. "But this guy is…"

"Nope." Dani replied stubbornly, pouring a second cup of coffee for him. "No lawyers." Turning to bring the coffees back to their desks, she added dryly, "Or Feds."

"Well then you, my dear, are in for a very bad day."

Dani sidestepped Detective Isaac Wright to avoid running into him and spilling coffee all over them both as he bolted into the bullpen and continued, "Because I just saw the Feds from the BAU checking in downstairs." Grinning at Dani, he added, "Six of them. Big ones. Actually five big ones and one scrawny one…probably the brains of the operation."

"Great."

"Behavior…Analysis…Unit." Mickey said, drawing each word out slowly. "Are they here to psychoanalyze us and figure out why the hell we can't find Casanova?"

"No," Dani shot back, before taking a sip of her coffee, "they're here to swoop in and save the day, making us look like two-bit morons in the process."

"The whole Callahan clan are big fans of the Federal Bureau of Investigation," Mickey explained sarcastically when Isaac raised his eyebrows at Dani's tone. "Big fans."

"Did the Bureau screw over your old man?" Isaac asked knowingly, catching the baseball that Mickey threw in his direction.

"More than once," she bit out and then grumbled, "This is our case."

"It's still our case. They're just here to help."

All three detectives looked up to see Isaac's partner, Mike Pellegrino, walking towards them.

"Well, if it isn't Mr. Mary Sunshine," Isaac teased, tossing the baseball to the newcomer. "Have we been busy engaging in some F.B.I. ass-kissing bright and early this morning?"

"Funny," Pellegrino drawled, catching the baseball and placing it between his fingers like he was going to throw a fastball through the nearest window. "I was simply introducing myself to our new colleagues…"

"Colleagues." Dani groaned mockingly. "Is that what we're calling them now?"

"Hey, didn't Jacobi already warn you to play nice with these guys?" Mike asked, raising his eyebrow at his co-worker.

"Yeah, can you believe that?" Dani grumbled, glancing up the stairs to the LT's office. "He called me up there and warned me to 'be cooperative'. Cooperative. Like I'm really that hard to get along with."

All three of her co-workers let out hearty laughs as Mike finally threw the ball back to it's original owner.

"What?" she asked indignantly, looking around at the guys she worked with. "We all get along without any problems."

"Yeah, but you've got an F.B.I. sized chip on your shoulder," Mickey reminded her pointedly, "And they've come in here to help us with a case that you have taken a little too per-…"

Mickey was interrupted by a smack in the head from Isaac, who hissed, "Head's up. Here they come."

"A little too…what?" Dani asked her partner, disregarding the six agents coming into the squad room or her boss coming down the stairs from his office.

"Here we go." Mickey warned them, ignoring Dani's question.

The four detective watched as their Lieutenant greeted the agents and introductions were made all around. The seven of them made their way into the bullpen and approached the area where DanI and her co-workers were standing. Dani was surprised by two things…that there were two women in the group and that only one of the men was wearing a standard issue F.B.I. suit. They looked almost…normal.

"Detectives, these are the agents from the Behavioral Analysis Unit." Jacobi began, making the formal introductions. "Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner, Dr. Reid, Agents Morgan, Prentiss…"

As Jacobi was rattling off the names, Dani's Blackberry went off. Moving away from the group, she checked her message and turned back in time to hear her lieutenant say, "…and this is Detective Dani Callahan. She's the one who originally caught the case. Her notes are the ones in the case file I sent you."

"They were very thorough," The agent in the suit commented as he reached out his hand to shake Dani's but she rudely turned to Jacobi and said, "M.E.'s got something. We're going down to check it out." Nodding at the agents and finally acknowledging their presence, she glanced over at Mickey and asked impatiently, "Coming?"

Startled by her complete disregard for the Federal Agents in front of Jacobi, Mickey blinked quickly before saying, "Uh…yeah. Right behind you."

While Dani hurried off to the elevators, Mickey smiled at the agents and excused himself before following his partner. Jacobi, watching every move Dani made, looked apologetically at the Federal Agents and noticed that they actually seemed quite amused by the scene.

"Well, I've never claimed to be the most popular guy in the room," joked Agent David Rossi, "but even I have never been disliked quite that fast. I think it was a record."

Shaking his head, Jacobi told them, "I wish I could tell you that her bark is worse than her bite, but…"

"But we wouldn't want to lie to you on your first day." Pellegrino chimed in comically, trying to put everyone at ease. "We got rapists and murderers sitting up at the prison with bite marks to prove it."

"The agents are going to set up in the conference room," Jacobi informed the remaining two detectives. "Why don't you two go make sure that it's ready for them."

"Both of us?"

"Both of you." Jacobi reiterated to both Isaac and Mike. Taking the hint, the two detectives made themselves scarce in a hurry. Turning back to the agents, Jacobi explained, "What Dani Callahan lacks in the way of social skills, she more than makes up for with investigative prowess. She is probably the best cop I've got here on my squad. She's 3rd generation Metro PD and has 4 older brothers who are all cops here in the district…"

"Callahan?" Rossi asked suddenly, glancing over at the nameplate on Dani's desk. "Any relation to Frank Callahan?"

Smiling almost proudly, the lieutenant replied, "She's his little girl."

"I consulted on a case with Frank Callahan back in the day," Rossi explained to Jacobi and the rest of his team. "He was one hell of a cop."

"And he taught his daughter everything she knows." Jacobi informed them, and then added knowingly, "Including how to distrust the F.B.I."

"We're only here to help." Agent Morgan reminded him. "We don't want to step on anyone's toes."

"I know." Jacobi agreed, glancing in the direction of the Victim's Board behind them. "But this case…" he paused for a moment and then finished, "Let's just say that it's taken it's toll on everyone. We just have to find this bastard before we get another call about one of these girls tied to a tree somewhere." And then suddenly his demeanor changed as he added, "But that being said…if Dani gives you any problems, you let me know."

"We don't anticipate any problems." Hotch told the lieutenant confidently. "We're here to work with your detectives, not against them. Now, where is that conference room you said we can set up in?"


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N - I borrowed the computer line from CM, so please forgive...it made me laugh, so I wanted to use it! I also got the info about the drug from Wikipedia.**

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**Chapter Three**

_"You must not lose faith in Humanity. Because one drop is dirty, does not mean the ocean becomes dirty." _~ Ghandi

"Are you looking to give me a reason to throw you off this case?"

The instant the elevator doors opened on the fourth floor of District Headquarters, Detectives Dani Callahan and Mickey Santos found themselves face to face with an obviously angry Lt. Jacobi.

"What are you talking about?" Dani asked, knowing exactly what he was talking about as she brushed past him out into the hallway.

Having seen the look on his boss' face only once before, Santos quickly followed his partner out of the elevator and mumbled, "I…uh…gotta go do something…over there." before retreating to the safety of the detective's bullpen.

"Way to have my back, partner." Dani muttered over her shoulder in the direction of Mickey's retreating form.

"Don't blame him. You got yourself into this one all by yourself." Jacobi commanded, taking her by the arm and pulling her away from the elevators. "What was the meaning of that little stunt earlier?"

"Stunt?"

"I've known you for a long time, Callahan, so I know you're not stupid." The lieutenant hissed, getting right in his detective's face. "Blowing off the BAU is not the way to make a good first impression."

"Awww…did I hurt their Federal feelings?" Dani quipped sarcastically, "I'm sure they'll get over it."

"That's not the point!"

"What is the point?"

"I told you to cooperate with the agents from the BAU." her boss reminded her, his patience obviously wearing thin. "They are here to help us solve this case."

"We don't need their help." Dani shot back, but almost winced when she realized how closely her tone resembled that of a petulant child.

"Really?" Jacobi raged, actually causing Dani to take a step back. "Did the remaining five women return to their families and someone forgot to tell me?"

Realizing that she had better tread lightly, Dani regrouped and told him calmly, "Claire called. She got the analysis back on the drug found in Carrie Ann's system." And then, because she simply couldn't help herself, she added, "Forgive me for thinking that was more important than schmoozing with the Feds. We are trying to solve this case, aren't we?"

"That's why they are here…"

"You know what, boss," Dani complained, running her hands through her hair in complete and utter frustration, "when this case is over, you can bench me or send me to time out or whatever punishment you see fit. I'll pencil you in at about half past TWO WOMEN ARE DEAD!" Realizing that she was yelling and bringing unwanted attention to their argument, she lowered her voice as she continued, "And the other five women could be, too. And if they're not, they are still being held captive and raped somewhere out there! We have to do better than we're doing, and we have to do it faster! So get off my back about playing nice with the Feds! I don't play politics…that's your job!"

Dani watched the muscle in Jacobi's jaw twitch before he shot back, "Damn it, Callahan! How 'bout we pretend for a minute that you're the cop and I'm your lieutenant? And that when I tell you to do something, you do it without an argument!"

"You mean the same way we're pretending that you didn't tell my brother to watch out for me at the crime scene yesterday?"

The lieutenant hadn't seen that one coming and he paused for a moment before he asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh give it up, Jacobi." Dani scoffed, "I'm a good detective and you're a bad liar. Tommy stuck to me like glue in the park yesterday. Even when the crime scene was about to be washed away, he maintained his position next to me. Now, I've known my brother a long time and there are only two reasons in the world why he would do that…and one of them retired five years ago!"

The tough, seasoned cop looked almost humbled as he began, "Look, I just…"

"No…you look! I have worked my ass off to be more than just the 'girl' in this squad." The redheaded 'girl' reminded him vehemently, "And I've worked everything else off to be seen as more than just Frankie Callahan's kid and Martin Jacobi's pet! And then you undermine all of that by telling my brother and my partner to watch out for me?" Sighing deeply, Dani seemed to run out of steam as she softened her tone and told her old friend, "LT, I know you have made a career out of worrying about me and most of the time I have given you good reason. But this time, I am not the girl you need to be worried about. You need to be worried about those girls up on the board. I'm fine."

"Are you?"

"Well, except for the fact that there is a sadistic psychopath abducting women from around the District, my life is pretty much perfect." Dani cracked, a smirk forming on her full lips. She could never, ever stay mad at this man. She just needed to get a few things off her chest and, apparently, so did he.

Shaking his head at her again, he let out a long breath and then looked at her long and hard before he said, "Calling in the BAU…that wasn't about you, you know?"

"I know." Dani admitted, looking down at her boots.

"I'm not taking this case away from you because I think you can't close it," He added, leaning in to be sure that she heard him. "They really are here to help."

"Yeah, because traditionally that's what the FBI does." she shot back in a sarcastic tone that always reminded Jacobi of her father, "They help."

A slow smile spread across his face at her words, but he said in a business-like tone, "Not these guys. These guys look at our evidence and see things we have overlooked…"

"We haven't overlooked anything."

Sighing deeply, he started again, "Okay, overlooked is a bad word. They are trained to see things differently. From the criminal's point of view." Putting a hand on her shoulder, he almost pleaded with her as he said, "I am thinking about those girls. That's why I called the BAU. We're not in a position here to be turning down help. Just give them a chance."

Dani pursed her lips and looked as if she were going to protest, but instead she said grumpily, "I really hate it when you're reasonable."

"Just for the record," the lieutenant informed his foot soldier, "this, right here, conversations like this are the reason why you have a reputation as a pain in the ass."

"Hey," she returned, feigning indignation, "I've worked hard to cultivate that reputation."

Smiling, Jacobi pushed the button for the elevator and told her, "Get to work, Callahan."

"Yes, boss."

Concealing another smirk, Dani turned and made her way back to the bullpen…where Mickey and the BAU team were trying their best to pretend that they hadn't heard the entire argument.

"We waited for you," Mickey informed his partner when she arrived next to his desk, "I didn't tell them about what Claire found until you…um…were finished."

"Well sometimes five missing women and two dead ones just have to take a backseat to my daily spanking, Mickey. You should know that by now." Dani reminded him sarcastically, and then turned to Agent Hotchner pointedly as she added slyly, "See, I'm rude to everybody."

The tall, serious agent raised his eyebrow at her and looked like he was concealing a smirk as Mickey explained, "She likes to make everyone feel included. It's part of her charm."

"We appreciate that." Agent Derek Morgan told them, warming up to the duo.

"Does this mean I get a do over?"

"Already done." Hotch told her, sitting on the edge of her desk.

"I didn't really pay attention during the introductions," Dani admitted sheepishly, "You are…?"

"Aaron Hotchner," Hotch told her and then proceeded to make the team's introductions again.

"So, you're Frank Callahan's little girl?" Agent Rossi observed after Dani had re-introduced herself also.

"You know my father?" she asked him in surprise.

"I know of him." Rossi told her honestly. "What I didn't know was that he had a daughter."

"Yeah, well my name goes a long way in hiding that bit of information," Dani told him, rolling her eyes. "And the fact that he and my brothers would prefer to keep me locked away in a tower." Signaling that the small talk was over and that it was time to get down to business, Dani opened up the report from the medical examiner and told them, "Claire, our ME, found a drug from the Benzodiazepine family in Carrie Ann's system, but she was unable to identify the exact strain. But whatever it is, it is the same drug that was in Allison Stewart's system."

"Benzodiazepine?" Emily Prentiss asked, looking at Dr. Reid quizzically.

Taking his cue, Reid began to explain, "Benzodiazepines were first introduced to the market in 1960's and are a commonly prescribed class of psychoactive drugs with varying sedative, hypnotic, muscle relaxant and amnesic properties. Benzodiazepines are generally safe and effective in the short term and are used as an important therapeutic tool. They can actually be life saving in certain conditions such as status epilepticus, although cognitive impairments or paradoxical effects occasionally occur such as physical aggression, impulsivity, violence, and suicide. However, longer term use of benzodiazepines is controversial and is officially not recommended due to their propensity to cause tolerance, physical dependence, addiction and a benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome upon cessation of use."

The Federal Agents tried extremely hard not to laugh at the look on the detectives faces as Reid continued to rattle off his extensive knowledge of the drug, "The first benzodiazepine, chlordiazepoxide was discovered serendipitously in 1954 by the Austrian scientist Leo Sternbach, working for the pharmaceutical company Hoffmann–La Roche. Chlordiazepoxide was synthesized by accident while trying to create a chemical dye. The chemical class synthesized was initially believed to be heptoxdiazines but on further investigation Leo Sternbach soon discovered the new compound was in fact quinazolone-3-oxides…"

"Reid…" Agent Hotchner warned, finally putting an end to the medical lesson.

Agent Reid looked sheepishly over at Dani and Mickey as he shoved his hands in his pockets and an uncomfortable silence fell over the group. Finally Dani turned to Santos and quipped, "Oh good, Mickey, they brought their own computer." Turning back to the agents, she tried to mask her playful tone as she informed them, "With all the budget cuts lately, we were afraid we wouldn't have an extra computer to spare. Good to know that isn't going to be a problem for you…"

Dani finally shut up when Mickey's elbow connected with her gut. Looking at him with wide eyes, she exclaimed, "Ow! What was that for?"

"That's your idea of playing nice?" Mickey asked her pointedly.

Dani looked over at Reid, who looked partly amused and partly uncomfortable, and then looked back at her partner as she said, "Oh come on…out of all of these guys, tell me you didn't think *_he_* would be the one with the sense of humor?"

"Actually," JJ corrected her with a smirk, "*_he_* is the one with no sense of humor at all."

The detective raised her eyebrow as she looked at Reid incredulously, but he simply shrugged and nodded in agreement. Finally cracking a smile of her own, Dani quipped, "Well, I guess that ends my illustrious career as a profiler." Getting back to business once again, she indicated the Victim's Board behind them as she said, "So let's get back to something I am good at…"

As Mickey moved the board into a position where everyone in the room could see it, Dani told the agents, "Agents, meet Theresa DeMarco, Samantha Gaines, Mary Jane Capaldi, Allison Stewart, Kristen Miles, Carrie Ann Southard, and Leslie Rosenthal. They all share the same profile. All young…late twenties, early thirties...all from inside the beltway and as far was we can tell, each of them was ambushed. No witnesses. And then, in the case of Allison and Carrie Ann, they were kept somewhere for a few weeks before the son of a bitch who calls himself Casanova chopped off their hair, raped them, gutted them, and tied them half naked to a tree in Rock Creek Park." Shaking her head, Dani added, "First two postmortems indicate vaginal tears like I've seldom seen…and I worked Sex Crimes in New York for six years. The tears were inflicted hours before death and the rapes were brutal…violent…like he was in a rage. And then that's it. No prints or fibers, no semen or hair…except what he cut off of them. There are no signs of torture, no weight loss…he just ties them up and leaves them to be found."

"Allison was missing for ten weeks, but Carrie Ann was only missing for seven?" Rossi asked, crossing his arms and staring at the board.

"Yeah," Dani confirmed, "There's no pattern…to anything he does. He doesn't take them from the same locations or around the same time of day, doesn't keep them for the same amount of time, and the women themselves have very little in common. They all work in separate fields, there isn't any overlap in their social circles or everyday activities…don't go to the same gym, shop at the same grocery store, or go to the same beauty salon."

"Well, they have at least one things in common," Morgan reminded them, "Look at them. These are beautiful women…extremely beautiful."

"Even more than that," Dani added, "these women aren't just attractive. They're all extraordinary in some way. According to their families, they are all smart, strong willed, talented….Carrie Ann is a med student at the top of her class, Mary Jane is a concert pianist who regularly plays at the Kennedy Center, Samantha was honored as Teacher of the Year for the entire District. The list goes on and on."

"It's like he's studying them before abducting them." Rossi deduced. "These women are not just random victims of crime…in fact, they're in a group among the least likely to ever be associated with acts of violence. These are educated, self-confident women who can probably take care of themselves in most situations…each one would be a challenge to any violent offender."

"Unless killing's not his ulterior motive." Hotch said suddenly, narrowing his eyes as he studied the notes the detectives had written on the nearby Evidence Board. "This guy's a collector. I bet these remaining women are all alive."

While Dani nodded her head in agreement, Mickey shook his head and scoffed, "I think you're giving him too much credit. Our boy's brain is soft as a two-minute egg...and nothing personal, but I figure that every one of these girls is tied to a tree somewhere just waiting to be found."

Before Hotch could defend his theory, Dani jumped in and disagreed, "Think about it, Mickey. Allison and Carrie Ann were killed out of sequence. They weren't even among the first abducted…"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they're not still out there."

"But we would have found them by now." Dani argued, "He makes absolutely no attempt to hide them. We've combed the woods in Rock Creek Park…Allison and Carrie Ann were the only two out there."

"And the way they were killed is very revealing." Hotch continued, leafing through the crime scene photos in one of Dani's files. "That last long walk through the woods. The injuries to their feet indicate that he was marching them to their fate. The rape, cutting off their hair. It's a punishment."

"For what?" Dani asked, giving Hotch her full attention.

"For violating some trust." he said, finally turning to look at her. "Allison and Carrie Ann did something wrong in the unsub's mind, so their punishment…"

"…was death." she finished for him, leaving the rest of the BAU to just watch at the give and take between their boss and the beautiful detective. It was an interesting dichotomy, to say the least. Dani considered his words for a moment and then shook her head as she asked, "But isn't a hatred toward women common in serial killers? Why would our guy want to collect them?"

"He could be a schizophrenic," Reid suggested and then explained, "The schizophrenia could cause him to have false emotions of love for these women and make him believe that they should love him as well. But he probably sees these women as out of his league, so he abducts them and tries to force them to be a part of his world."

"That's why there are no signs of long term torture or weight loss," Rossi added, "In his mind, he's taking care of them. Until they do something to anger him…and then it sets off the sadist in him."

The Federal Agents watched the redheaded detective process all of their new information, but it was her partner who finally asked, "So….where does that leave us?"

"The answer has to lie with the victims." Prentiss told them quickly. "This city is full of smart and successful women, but there has to be a reason why he is targeting these seven."

"Rossi, Morgan, and Prentiss…go to Rock Creek Park with Detective Santos," Hotch commanded, "Split up and re-examine both areas where the girls were found. Even with the rain, there might be something about the area that will give us more insight into our unsub." Turning to look at Dani, he said, "You have an established connection with the victim's families, correct?" When she nodded, the tall agent continued, "I need you to take Reid and I to see them…all of them. There is something that these women have in common that we're still missing."


	5. Chapter 4

**This is not my favorite chapter. It started out well, but I think I ran out of steam towards the end. So, I am uploading Chapter 5 at the same time....because I am much happier with that one!**

**Thanks to all my readers...this story has had a lot of hits. Not too many reviews, but I am hoping that will change. Since this is my first CM fic, I would really like some feedback on characterization and storyline. If anyone has time...**

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**Chapter Four**

_**When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.**_ ~Henri Nouwen

_Hours later…_

"I hate it when they cry."

Dani slammed the front door to Hotch's SUV closed behind her and stared straight ahead through the windshield as he and Dr. Reid got into the vehicle with her.

"I mean, I understand why they do," she continued when Hotch silently started the truck and pulled away from the curb outside of Carrie Ann Southard's parents' house in Alexandria, Virginia. "But I still hate it. Every damn time."

The Southard's were the last of the families that they had visited in the last six hours and Dani was done. Emotionally, physically…done.

Hotch glanced sidelong at the detective in his passenger seat and remarked slowly, "Maybe I should have asked Detective Santos to come with us…"

"No," Dani interrupted quickly, resisting the urge to glare at him. If he was going to patronize her on top of everything else, it was definitely the last straw. "I'm the one who has a relationship with the families. I'm the one they call in the middle of the night when they hear that another dead girl has been found somewhere in the District and they want to make sure it's not their child. And, in the case of the Southard's and the Stewart's, it's my job to tell them what most likely happened to their beautiful daughter…the luminous little girl that they raised and loved, only to have her killed by hate. It's my job to bestow upon them the hard truth that their daughter, their sister, their niece, their friend isn't coming home." Taking a breath, she finished, "I just hate it when they cry."

Hearing the bitterness in her voice, the Unit Chief exchanged a look of concern with Reid through the rearview mirror before saying quietly, "It's the hardest part of the job. But, if they feel even one moment of closure because of you being there, then you've done your job."

Dani was silent again before she said, "Closure. People like us throw that word around too often. But the truth is, even though all the lawyers and shrinks assure you that bringing the person who murdered someone you love to justice will help give you a sense of peace and closure…it doesn't." Turning away from him to look out the passenger window, her voice was quiet when she added, "It's supposed to be therapeutic to hear the scum own up to what he did and be punished. It's supposed to help put everything behind you and help you let go of all of the anger that you've been harboring. But it doesn't. Because it doesn't do the one thing that you need it to do…and that's take away the pain of outliving someone who meant the whole world to you."

The truck was quiet for a few minutes before Reid observed quietly from the back seat, "It sounds like you have some personal experiences with that. I'm sure it helps you in dealing with the families."

Dani didn't answer him and just continued to look out the window until she finally looked back over at Hotch, whatever emotions that had been conjured up by speaking with Carrie Ann Southard's emotional mother and step-father were now masked by a mischievous glint in her eye.

"So, Hotchner," she began, conveniently deflecting the conversation away from herself, "even though you look and sound like you were born a Fed, your interview style makes me think you might have actually spent some time out on the streets in the real world." Studying his profile, she asked him, "Are you a former cop?"

"S.W.A.T." he confirmed and then added, "And prosecutor."

"You're a lawyer?"

"Reformed." When the edges of her lips curled into an unexpected smile, he asked, "What?"

"Nothing," she lied with a shrug and a grin, "Mickey and I were talking just this morning about my special relationship with Feds and lawyers."

"Which do you hate more?" Hotch asked knowingly.

"Depends on what day it is." she shot back before asking seriously, "So, what did you learn from this little exercise today? We talked to all the families, you asked all your questions…what did you find out?"

Letting out a sigh of fatigue, Hotch admitted, "Not too much. There is no definite connection between these women…"

"Well, thank you for coming around to the self-evident point I made five weeks ago." Dani interrupted sarcastically. "I'm so glad we wasted the entire day…"

"It wasn't a waste," he argued, "We just have to dig deeper. And you have to start trusting us."

"Look, it's not that I don't trust you," she told them wearily, leaning her head back against the seat, "it's that I don't understand what you do exactly. I mean, I've always been taught that you should never try to figure out the '_why' _when it comes to cases like this because you can drive yourself crazy. _Why did he do it? Why these girls? _There are just some questions that you may never know the answers to." She glanced in the rearview mirror to see Reid listening intently to her and then continued, "My father always taught me to just look at the victim. Doesn't matter who they were, what they did. You have to strip away their personality and make them all equal in death. Because if they have been murdered, they must be avenged…without any hesitation, without any moral dilemma. Their families must have justice."

"We at the BAU believe in that, too. We just go about it differently." Hotch explained, never taking his eyes off the road. "The evidence we believe in is behavior. We have been trained to know that perpetrators of grisly serial crimes, from murder to arson to rape, will strike again if not stopped."

"Criminal investigative analysis is a process of reviewing crimes from both a behavioral and investigative perspective." Reid added, "There's something that we as a society want to understand about how someone like Casanova turns out this way."

"I don't want to understand him." Dani said matter of factly, crossing her arms stubbornly over her chest. "I just want to stop him. If we don't stop these attacks, the women of this city will never recover. Your way, my way…whichever way. We have to get this son of a bitch off the streets. And we have to do it now."


	6. Chapter 5

**Let the flirtation begin. But since it's Hotch...it's a little unconventional. I hope you like it!**

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**Chapter Five **

"_Nothing's true and nothing's right, so let me be alone tonight. Cause you can't change the way I am. Are you strong enough to be my man? _

_I have a face I cannot show. I make the rules up as I go. So try and love me if you can. Are you strong enough to be my man?" _

~ Sheryl Crow lyrics

_Later that night…_

Dani flipped her long red hair over her shoulder and sighed heavily. The agents from the BAU had collected some extra evidence and taken a lot of notes and photos of their own at the Rock Creek crime scenes, so the case file just kept growing. She lugged the file box off of her desk and carried it into an empty interrogation room. The table there was large enough to spread out the photos, witness statements and evidence packages. And since the squad room was practically deserted at this late hour, she was pretty sure she wouldn't be disturbed.

She laid things out methodically, lifting the plastic wrapped packages as carefully as she would lift an infant out of a crib, careful to place the evidence bags under their respective photographs and ensuring they didn't cross into the other columns she was creating. Staring at their evidence, she looked for patterns in the photos, the statements and the minuscule amounts of physical evidence found at each scene. The longer she stared, the faster the images blurred before her. She'd been at this for over six hours. Actually, she'd been at it for months. And despite the presence of the BAU, she wasn't any closer to the answers she was looking for.

Pulling her auburn waves up into a ponytail, Dani glanced around the room at the familiar bare walls. Jacobi had left four hours ago. Mickey was probably sound asleep in the arms of his beautiful bride, with one or two of their adorable children sharing the bed with them. Kellerman was on yet another hot date, and Pellegrino was hauled up in a sports bar somewhere watching whatever physical activity happened to be on television. Their shift was over for the day.

The BAU had gathered all of the detectives from both shifts to give everyone their profile of Casanova at the same time, and then Dani's squad had left the 2nd shift to take over for the night. Everyone, including the Federal agents, had called it a night.

Or at least that's what she thought had happened.

So Dani was more than a little surprised when the door to the interrogation room opened and Agent Aaron Hotchner entered the small sanctuary she had sequestered herself away in. His suit jacket was off, his tie was loosened, and he looked about as tired as she felt. In his hands he carried two large cups of coffee, one of which he set down next to Dani and then settled himself in one of the uncomfortable metal chairs across the table from her.

Eyeing the cup of steaming liquid, the detective asked, "Is that for me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

The stoic agent practically chuckled at her guarded look and simply said, "I thought you might want it."

"You brought me coffee?"

"Yes."

"What's in it?"

"Coffee." He told her simply. "Two sugars. A little bit of cream."

Raising a suspicious eyebrow at him, she asked dryly, "Did you figure out how I take my coffee by profiling me?"

"No," Hotch shook his head, unable to conceal the grin that spread across his lips as he informed her smugly, "I figured it out by asking your partner how you take your coffee."

"Why?"

"Why did I bring you coffee?" He simply shook his head again at the silly conversation and then said, "It's a peace offering."

Whatever Aaron Hotchner was expecting to happen next, it wasn't for her to laugh at him. But that is exactly what she did. It was the first truly unguarded moment he had witnessed from this woman and it was refreshing. It had been a long time since Hotch had taken notice of a member of the opposite sex, but Detective Dani Callahan was a stunningly beautiful woman. And that beauty seemed to intensify, if possible, when she laughed.

"You brought me a peace offering?" she repeated, looking at the coffee and slumping down into one of the other chairs.

"That's funny to you?"

She stared at him briefly before sighing deeply and then admitted, "Look Hotchner, I know that I have not laid out the welcome mat for you and your team. I don't handle failure well and Jacobi hit me with this in a way that…well, it was just easier to be pissed at you than it was for me to accept your help." With her signature smirk, she added, "You see, Agent Hotchner, I am what my father calls a 'royal pain in the ass'."

"Really?" he shot back, folding his arms across his chest and feigning a look of surprise, "I hadn't noticed."

Dani gave him a look that was part scowl and part smirk as she continued, "What I'm trying to say is that if anyone should be handing out peace offerings around here, I know that it's me. My father did teach me a few manners along the way and I know I owe you an apology for my behavior, but…"

"But you're not good at apologies." he finished for her, his dark eyes narrowing in the same way they did when he had been studying the case file earlier, "And it's not because of pride or vanity, but because you're not often wrong or in too many situations where you need to apologize. And I assume that someone along the way, probably your father, once told you that apologizing was a sign of weakness."

"Actually," she corrected him, "my father taught me that it takes a hell of a lot of strength to apologize." Dani took a cautious sip of her coffee and eyed him over the lip of her cup before accusing, "So, you _**have**_ profiled me."

"It wasn't that hard."

"Ouch," she exclaimed, almost choking on her next sip of coffee and pasting a look of mock indignation on her pretty face. "Are you calling me an easy mark? Because some people, who know me a lot better than you do, consider me to be quite complicated."

"Complicated, yes," Hotch reassured her, resisting the urge to grin again, "But you're no serial killer."

She gave him a sidelong look that told him she was trying to figure out if he was serious or not, and he matched it with a steely gaze of his own. Finally, curiosity getting the best of her, Dani asked, "Okay, so what did you find out?"

"You want me to profile you?" When she nodded in response, he asked, "Are you sure?"

"Go ahead, Hotchner," she challenged, sitting back in her chair with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "why don't you tell _**me**_ what you know about _**me**_."

They continued to stare each other down for a brief moment before Hotch stood up and began to circle the small room…and the beautiful woman in it. In a matter of seconds, he was back in professional mode…

"You lost your mother at a very young age, so you grew up in a world dominated by men - your father, four brothers, Jacobi, and…because a police stationhouse is like a family…all of the men that your father served with." he told her matter of factly, never once looking up to meet her gaze. "Your father never remarried and raised you on his own, so your upbringing was a little unconventional…you were raised to be as tough and strong willed as your brothers, but you were also protected by all these men who loved you because you are the spitting image of your beloved mother and all that any of them have left of her. It created an interesting…"

"How did you know about my mother?" Dani interrupted suddenly, looking almost nervous.

Hotch leaned up against the two-way mirror and explained, "In the only picture you have of your mother on your desk, you can't be more than six or seven years old. The rest of your family photos are current, so if you had a recent picture of your mother it would be there." Challenging her with his gaze, he continued, "I'm very good at my job, Detective. Would you like me to continue?"

"I'm fascinated." she admitted honestly, never skipping a beat in their little dance.

"You worshipped your father growing up and as a child you held two irreversible facts about him…that he was the strongest man alive and that he contained a storehouse of all the world's knowledge and wisdom. But your father was a tough cop who saw unspeakable things out on the streets and was not always an easy man to love. He rarely showed emotion in front of you and didn't deal well with feelings…his own or anyone else's…so you learned very early on that big displays of emotion were pointless. Instead, when you are feeling angry or overwhelmed, you mask your emotions in sarcasm or humor because that is how your family dealt with difficult times. If you could laugh it off…it wasn't really as bad as you first thought. But for all of his flaws, your father was your hero and you had a relatively happy childhood. His constant love and support was evident and it created a close bond between you and your brothers…one like you rarely see in families anymore. And because of this bond, you grew up to be a self-confident, smart, savvy woman who could easily consider world domination as your next career move…"

Dani grinned at his words in spite of herself and thought she saw the unflappable Agent Hotchner do the same. But he didn't even hesitate as he continued,

"But instead, you followed your father and your brothers into the world of law enforcement…yet another world dominated by men. While most people assume you became a cop to earn your father's respect, I suspect your decision had very little to do with Frank Callahan's career choices. You've always had your father's respect…he adores you, as do most of the men who helped him raise you, including Jacobi. He'll never admit it but you're probably his favorite child and are most definitely the one most like him." Hotch paused briefly to watch as she unconsciously nodded her head in agreement with his statements, and then picked up a more serious tone as he went on, "But you have had tragedy in your life and the way you have chosen to deal with it is to help others who find themselves in similar situations. That is why you empathize with the victim's and their families…which is in direct contrast to the lack of emotion you display around your colleagues."

Dani didn't say a word at this point, but she did bring her gaze up to meet his. Egged on by her subtle body language, Hotch continued carefully, "The guys you work with have earned your loyalty and you have in turn earned their trust, but it was not always an easy road. Because not only are you a woman playing in what is traditionally a man's game…you are an exceptionally beautiful woman in that world. So you have had to work ten times harder than any of your brothers and male counterparts to get half the respect. But this is the world you want to be a part of, so you take all of the flack that comes with it. When they ask for 25 push-ups, you give 'em 50. At the range they want a score of 80, you get 98. When you can't climb over a wall, you build one in your backyard so that you can practice.

"But after graduating from the Academy, you left town. You went to New York because the work was gritty and real and meant something…and no one there had ever heard of Detective Frank Callahan or his sons. You came home to D.C. when you're father retired and now you're working for his old partner while your brothers are still very much in the picture at other precincts around the District. And you're still being worshipped and protected by these men who raised you, but it's a burden to you now. A burden you accept willingly because you would rather suffer silently than to ever hurt one of these men that has given you everything." He narrowed his eyes at her again as she began to shift uncomfortably in her chair, saying, "And they are all worried about you lately, more than they usually are. Even though you have proven to them and everyone else that you are a good cop and can take care of yourself, something about this case and your reaction to it concerns them. They are hovering and you know that if you make one wrong move…one of them will step in. You feel that Lieutenant Jacobi already has…that's why my team's presence here unnerves you so much…and you are just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because you are focused on finding these women and they seem to only be focused on you."

"And you got all of this from observing me for fifteen hours and nosing around at my desk?" the skeptical detective asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

"How did I do?" Hotch inquired, already knowing the answer.

Dani pursed her soft, pink lips together and let out a long breath before she told him, "When I was six years old, my mother was gunned down right in front of me. The son of a bitch just left her there to die in the street…like a dog. The guys in my dad's squad worked overtime to find my mother's murderer…followed every lead, leaned on all of their contacts, called in every favor anyone ever owed them. It went on for weeks…none of them slept, they barely ate, and no one ever complained. Because Rose Callahan was family to them and her children deserved justice. When they finally brought in a suspect, my father brought me down to this very stationhouse and took me into that little room," she motioned toward the viewing room behind him, "where I sat and positively identified the scumbag who had killed my mother. And when it was all over, Jacobi brought me out to the squad room to wait until he was booked…although I've come to realize now it was so that my father could have a little _'alone time'_ with my mother's murderer. He told me how proud he was of me and bought me a Coke, which was a real treat back then, and gave me a donut and sat me on his lap behind his desk. And all these cops…these big, tough guys who I always thought of as larger than life…kept coming over to me to tell me how brave I was and how strong I was and how because of me the man who killed my mother was going to spend the rest of his life in jail. And he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else ever again. Because of me." Smiling softly at the memory, she admitted, "That was night I decided that I wanted to become a cop." Looking up and locking eyes with Hotch, Dani told him, "And until you profiled me just now, there were only a handful of people in this world who knew that my father had very little to do with my career choice and that the guys he served with had everything to do with it. But just for the record," she added defiantly, the gleam back in her eye, "…when they ask for 25 pushups, I give 'em 90."

Without flinching, Hotch shot back with a smirk, "Apology accepted, detective."

Letting out another short laugh and coming very close to taking Hotch's breath away in the process, Dani turned the tables on him and caught him off guard when she quipped, "Now that was a unique way of flirting, Hotchner. I thought I had seen it all, but you surprised me."

"I was not flirting…" he began to protest, but she cut him off with a grin.

"It's okay." she interrupted coolly, smiling seductively at him, "You can deny it if you want, but I'm not the only one in this room who is easy to profile."


	7. Chapter 6

**I always like to include a good girlfriend chapter in my fics, but since Dani is not yet friends with any of the CM girls I had to create another OC for her! I hope you like Claire...she is based on a mentor I had! The woman was direct, to the point, no nonsense and I loved her!**

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**Chapter Six**

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"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry with your girlfriends."

-Laurie Kuslansky

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The next morning…

"He was definitely flirting with me."

Dani picked at the lemon poppy seed muffin she had chosen for an early Saturday morning breakfast with her best friend, Claire Monroe, as she related the events of the previous evening to her. Claire, the Medical Examiner for the District, was Dani's port of calm during every storm life threw at her. And the woman she had the most fun with when life was serene.

"He doesn't strike me as a man who would flirt." Claire told her knowingly, bringing two café lattes to the overstuffed couch in her basement office where Dani was sitting. "Even with you."

"Well, he was doing it in a serious and professional kind of way," the detective informed her with a grin, "but it was definitely flirting. I have been flirted with before, you know…"

"Everyday of your life, I imagine." The beautiful, black woman joked as she gave her best friend a once over…long, wavy red hair, peaches and cream complexion, emerald green eyes, and a figure that looked like it was sculpted by the good Lord himself. The woman did not look like a cop…she looked like a supermodel. Shaking out her short, ebony curls, Claire continued dryly, "Okay, so he was flirting. In an interrogation room. Surrounded by pictures of dead girls and crime scenes. Sounds like true love."

"Well, I didn't say it was romantic." Dani explained defensively, "I just said it was…"

"What is it with you and damaged guys?"

"He's not damaged." The redhead shot back before taking a sip of her coffee. "He's just…serious."

"And you know this…how? From the seventeen hours you spent with him going over evidence and interviewing families?" the ME asked pointedly, unwrapping the breakfast sandwich Dani had brought to her. "Answer me this…was he or was he not here until the wee hours on a Friday night?"

"Yes," Dani admitted, but then said, "But so was I."

"My point exactly." Claire told her with a grin before taking a big bite.

"Are you calling me damaged?"

After chewing for a moment she answered, "Never mind…you're probably perfect for each other."

Swallowing another sip of her coffee, Dani muttered, "I don't have a thing for damaged guys."

Claire laughed at her friend and shook her head in disbelief as she said, "You don't go for damaged men? I've got two words for you, Honeybear…Jimmy. Caruso."

Dani winced at the mention of her ex-husband's name, but said defiantly, "Jimmy doesn't count. He was a youthful mistake."

"That lasted five years!" Her best friend reminded her with a grin. "Youthful mistakes last a night…or a week, at the most. They do not stay married for five years."

"Hey, I was 24 years old," Dani laughed, trying to defend herself, "And he was beautiful. And Italian. And a New York City firefighter. I really don't think I can be held responsible for my own actions."

"But we can still hold him responsible for his though, right?"

"Absolutely!" The detective agreed, popping a large bite of muffin in her mouth with a grin. After a minute, she said slyly, "He's a lawyer."

"Jimmy?"

"No," Dani corrected, "Aaron. He's a former prosecutor."

"And a Fed?" Claire asked in disbelief, smacking her girl on the leg. "Child, you are just asking for trouble!"

"I know!" The younger woman laughed, shaking her head at her own behavior, "I tried disliking him on principle…but it didn't work. He was amused by me. And he didn't put up with my crap. Like, at all. And then…he just knew me. It was a little eerie."

"It's his job."

"I know!" Dani repeated, playing with her coffee cup. "His job was to profile Casanova, but he profiled me instead. And he nailed it." Pulling her knees up underneath her chin, she continued, "I don't know. Maybe it's just physical. I mean…there's something very sexy about his buttoned up F.B.I. shell. It makes me want to know what he's like underneath it all…when he's not working and kicking back having fun. I mean, does he even have fun?"

"No, you mean…is he fun between the sheets?" The distinguished older woman cackled with laughter at the look in her young friend's face and then continued, "He probably is. Those buttoned down types usually are…they have to let out their pent up emotions somewhere, so it might as well be with you."

"Says the woman who is married to a man who has never worn a suit in his entire life." Dani quipped, referring to Claire's husband Charlie…a defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins. Shaking her head, she continued, "I am a horrible person. An awful, horrible, selfish person. Two women are dead and I'm thinking about jumping the F.B.I. agent who came here to help me find a serial killer. What is wrong with me?"

Claire was quiet for a moment before she asked seriously, "Do you want to know what I think?"

"Don't I always?" Dani shot back with a grin. "Why do you think I bought you breakfast?"

"I think that sometimes things happen between people that you don't really expect. And sometimes the things that are the most important are the ones that seem the weirdest or the most wrong." Taking Dani's hand in hers and giving it a squeeze, she added softly, "And those are the ones that change your life."

"I'm not looking for someone to change my life…"

"Well, you should be." Claire interrupted knowingly, taking another bite of her breakfast.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"That means you're a pain in the ass." Claire held up her hand to stop Dani's protests and continued quickly, "And I say that with love. But you are a fiercely independent, fiercely loyal, and an extremely obnoxious zealot…"

"Again said with love, right?" Dani drawled dryly, glaring at her friend.

"…when it comes to your job." The Medical Examiner continued, ignoring her friend's interruption, "Child, I have seen you run headlong into bullets and take down men three times your size in the pursuit of justice. If I were ever in trouble, you would be my first phone call. Hell, you'd be my only phone call because I probably wouldn't need anybody else. Fear has not found a comfortable home within you. But outside of the stationhouse…what have you got?"

"My friends, my family…"

"Who are all married with families of their own." Clair said, not skipping a beat. "You can't keep spending your Saturday nights hanging out on my couch or babysitting your nieces and nephews." Taking on a serious tone, she continued, "The good news is it's not too late to change. You're a youngster with a big heart and a good head on your shoulders. You just have to stop going around poking everyone but God in the eye!"

"With friends like you, who needs a therapist?" Dani muttered, sipping her coffee. "How did this suddenly become the _"Dump on Dani" _hour?"

"You know I love you." Claire reminded her, shrugging off her pouting. "And I want what's best for you. So maybe a guy who understands the pressures of your job really is the best way to go…like an F.B.I. agent. But you've already done the two high pressure career thing and look where that got you. I'm sure Agent Hotchner's job has left him with some demons, too…so tread lightly."

"You know," Dani told her with a grin, "all I wanted to do was tell you that a good looking guy flirted with me. How did we stray so far from the original concept?"

"Because," her beautiful friend reminded her, "you and me are not normal girlfriends, Honeybear. We deal in death…so our girl talk gets serious pretty quickly."

"Yeah, well, next time we do this…we do it over obnoxiously colorful and fruity drinks." The detective laughed, holding up her muffin, "Cause I definitely need something stronger than poppy seeds to deal with your advice."

"You wouldn't keep coming back if you didn't love it…"

The ladies' playful banter came to an abrupt halt when the man they happened to be discussing appeared in the doorway.

"Detective Callahan," Hotch said, entering Claire's office with a serious look on his face and a serious tone to his voice, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we've had another abduction. In Georgetown."

"Damn it." Dani breathed, closing her eyes briefly. Opening them again, she got up and followed the tall agent out to the elevators as she muttered, "This is what happens when I take a break."


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven **

"_To the outside world we all grow old, but not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family grief and joys. We live outside the touch of time." _

~ Clara Ortega

"What have we got, Ed?"

The officers from the Second District were already at the Georgetown apartment of Casanova's latest victim when Dani arrived with Agents Hotchner, Prentiss and Morgan. The redheaded detective immediately gravitated toward a tall, handsome detective who was standing in the middle of the living room.

Looking at the agents who had followed her into the room, he nodded in their general direction and asked, "Got a new posse, Callahan? Mickey get tired of you already?"

"They're agents from the BAU," Dani replied, stealing a look at the detective's notes. "They're here to give us a psycholog-…"

"You brought the Feds?" he asked, looking at her in disbelief. Giving the three agents the once over, he joked, "Well, they don't look any worse for wear. You goin' easy on them? That's not like you, Dani-girl. I thought…"

"Eddie, cut the crap." Dani snapped, glaring at her fellow detective in a way that warned the agents not to mess with her and then repeated, "What have we got?"

"Never were a morning person, were ya Dan?" The detective quipped sarcastically as he suppressed a grin and nudged her with his shoulder. But he quickly got back to business and informed them, "Got a call about an hour ago from the boyfriend of one Pippa Rodriguez…owner of this apartment and apparent victim of your psychopath. He came over to pick her up for a breakfast meeting only to find the apartment ransacked and his girlfriend was no where to be found. Looks like she was taken right out of her bed and dragged out the front door…"

"Pippa Rodriguez?" Dani repeated, picking up a photograph from a nearby shelf and looking down upon the woman smiling up at her from beneath the glass. "I know her. She was on the defense team for the Montgomery murders. She works for some big law firm downtown…Jones Day."

"Jones Day represents criminal defendants who can't afford their own counsel." Hotch informed them, glancing around the apartment. "They do a lot of pro bono work."

"I talked to her." Dani said softly, talking to no one in particular. "We joked out in the hallway about how she could be taken seriously with a name like Pippa. She was great…for a lawyer."

Hotch caught her subtle dig and tried not to smirk as he asked, "What else do you know about the victim?"

"Not much," Leafing through her address book, which had been laying on a nearby table, Eddie said, "Woman was obsessed with her job. Address book doesn't even have an "in case of an emergency" contact." Grinning at Dani, he quipped, "At least you have a couple of human friends."

"Well, she likes mysteries." Agent Morgan informed them from across the room, holding up one of the many titles from a nearby bookshelf that was loaded down with mystery novels.

"Good," the detective from the 2nd District quipped sarcastically, "because now she gets to be in one."

"Were you born a smart-ass, or did it just come with the job?" Agent Prentiss asked, narrowing her eyes at the handsome cop.

"Hey, I'm a pussycat," he said, holding his hands up in a defensive position while cracking a smile, "You should meet my old man. And he passed his charming personality down to the lioness over there, so if you can deal with her," he nodded over to where Dani was talking to one of the uniformed officers, "than you can most definitely put up with me."

"I guess I forgot to make the introductions," Dani said, coming over to where Hotch, Emily, and Eddie were standing. "Agents Aaron Hotchner, Emily Prentiss and Derek Morgan…this is my brother, Detective Eddie Callahan."

"Is there a Callahan in every District in D.C.?" Morgan asked, still looking through the bookshelf as Hotch and Eddie shook hands.

"Just about," Eddie confirmed, handing his notebook over to Dani so she could read his notes, "Between Dani and our brothers, we got four of the seven Districts covered. And so far, three of us have had the pleasure of dealing with Casanova."

"Carrie Ann Southard and Kristen Miles were taken from the 5th District, where our brother, Tommy, works," Dani explained, "Samantha Gaines and now Pippa were from here in the 2nd District…"

"And the rest were all taken from Dani's stomping grounds….District 1." Eddie continued, picking up where his sister left off. "The only one of us who hasn't made Casanova's acquaintance is our oldest brother, Bobby…who is a Captain down in the 7th District." Looking over at Dani, his tone got serious again as he asked, "He's never made strikes this close together, has he?"

"He had a vacancy." The younger Callahan told them, remembering what Dr. Reid had said about rotating out his victims.

"And how do you know that Pippa Rodriguez was a victim of Casanova?" Prentiss asked, looking at Eddie and recognizing the similarities to Dani…in both manner and appearance. It was almost unthinkable that she had missed it before.

"Because he left a little gift," Eddie informed her, motioning for one of the uniformed officers to step forward. Looking carefully at his sister, he said slowly, "For you."

"Another note?"

"Sort of." Eddie said, taking an evidence bag from the officer and handing it to his sister, "A post card with a painting of a naked girl on the front. With your name and his signature on the back."

"That's the painting _Grande Odalisque _painted by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres." Emily said, looking at the card over Dani's shoulder.

"Odalisque?" Dani repeated, flipping the card over and staring at the signature. "I've heard that word somewhere before…"

"Odalisques were virgin female slaves in the Ottoman Empire." The female agent informed them, "They were considered the most valuable of the emperor's treasures because they were gifted in the arts of music and poetry. If an odalisque was of extraordinary beauty or had exceptional talents in dancing or singing, she would be trained as a possible concubine."

Watching her brother look at the agent in amazement, Dani quipped, "There's another one back at the station just like her…only taller and with better hair."

"Reid does have good hair," Prentiss agreed with a grin when Dani winked at her.

"Odalisques were talented." Hotch said seriously, getting them back on track. "Special."

"Just like our girls." Dani finished for him. "He sent me a picture of a harem girl…a concubine." The wheels turning in her head, she looked up at Hotch as she whispered, "It's just like you said. He's telling us they're alive and being kept as sex slaves."

"Why would he tell you that?" the elder Callahan sibling asked, looking up at the agents as well, "Doesn't it put him at a disadvantage if you know those girls aren't dead?"

"It demonstrates his power," Prentiss answered, "his dominance. Over us and these women."

"So, he's fuckin' with you," Eddie deduced, looking again at his sister before he asked, "Why you?"

"Because she is the face of this investigation. She's been with the families when they were making their public pleas for the safe return of their daughters and she's been seen at the crime scenes." Morgan told him, coming over to where they were standing. "Which tells us that he's tracking the case. He's reading the local papers. We can use that."

"No."

All four heads turned to look at Eddie as he shook his head and reiterated, "You're not using her as bait."

"Eddie…"

"That's not what Agent Morgan meant…" Hotch tried to explain, but Eddie wasn't listening. His attention was focused squarely on his sister.

"I'm a good cop, Dan. I have been for a long time," He told his sister and everyone else in the room. "I've got keen instincts, and right now, my instincts are telling me that I don't know what the hell is going on. And neither does anybody else, no matter what they say. But if this son of a bitch is abducting successful, beautiful women…have you looked in the mirror recently?"

"He's not coming for me, Ed." Dani said, dismissing his concern with a scowl. "I can take care of myself. Now, can we please get back to Pippa Rodriguez?"

Detective Edward Francis Callahan stared at his sister long and hard for a few more minutes before he finally said, "We got the boyfriend next door with a neighbor and one of our officers, if you want to talk to him." Tearing his gaze away from his kid sister and glancing around the apartment, he added, "Crime Scene Unit is taking prints and collecting evidence from the bedroom, but it doesn't look like he left too much behind…just like at the other scenes. Otherwise, feel free to look around. I don't know what you're going to find though…doesn't look like she's been here long. She's still got moving boxes in the back two rooms that haven't even been unpacked yet."

"Moving boxes?" Dani asked suddenly, snapping her head around to look at her brother, "From where?"

Moving over to the doorway to the spare bedroom, he looked inside and then told her, "Capitol Moving and Storage Company. Why?"

But Dani was already focused on something else. She pulled out her Blackberry and brought up the crime scene photos from the other abductions. She clicked through the photos until she found the one she wanted and held up the phone, "Capitol Moving and Storage. There were boxes in Mary Jane Capaldi's apartment from that company. And Leslie Rosenthal had just moved into a new office…ten to one her company used Capitol Moving and Storage."

Agent Morgan had already picked up her lead and quickly dialed his own phone to connect to Technical Analyst Garcia.

"Your friendly neighborhood oracle of all information, knowable and unknowable, at your service!" came an unexpectedly female voice from within the phone.

"Baby girl, I need you to run the names of all seven of the missing women with the client lists from Capitol Moving and Storage Company." Derek said when Garcia picked up the other end of the line. Moving into Pippa Rodriguez's spare room, he looked closely at the boxes and gave her address, "678 Indiana Ave in Northwest Washington, DC."

"That's not far from here." Eddie told them, heading for the door, "Come on, I'll take you."


	9. Chapter 8

**OKay, writing interrogation scenes are hard!!! I found this out in about the middle of the chapter, so if that's why it starts to fizzle...you know why!! But, in case you were wondering, this is not the definitive interrogation chapter. There is still more to come...**

**Enjoy!!**

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

_Two hours later, back at the Police Station…_

"You know, her brother is not entirely wrong."

Hotch glanced up from his paperwork with a confused look on his handsome face and asked, "What?"

"Dani Callahan fits the profile of these victims." Morgan informed him, sitting across the conference room table from his boss. "Maybe Casanova's got a beef with the old man, Frank Callahan. These women have been abducted from district's where his kids work…"

"Except the oldest one."

Shaking his head, Morgan tried again, "Four siblings working in four separate districts of DC Metro…eight abducted women. The odds are in their favor. It's worth checking out, don't you think?"

Hotch thought for a moment and then nodded his head, "You and Reid get Garcia to take a look at Frank Callahan's old cases and see if there is any connection to any of these girls."

Morgan nodded and rushed out of the conference room, almost knocking Dani over as she was coming in. With a strange look on her face, she said from the doorway, "Your technical analyst girl just called me a redheaded minx as she was giving me background information on Vincent Matthews. Should I be concerned?"

Never looking up at her, he shook his head and answered calmly, "No. That's just Garcia."

Assuming that was the only answer that she was going to get, Dani asked impatiently, "Ready?"

Hotch finally looked up, gave her the once over, and then said, "You aren't."

"What are you talking about?"

"We have nothing concrete on Vincent Matthews, so we have to throw him off his game if we have any hopes of getting a confession out of him." Indicating her appearance, he continued, "If you're going in there with me…you have to sex it up."

"**IF** I'm going in there with you?" Dani repeated forcefully. "The only reason **YOU** are going in there with **ME** is because you strong-armed your way into this interrogation. This should be Mickey's interview…"

Her voice trailed off as her brain caught up with her mouth and she suddenly asked, "Wait a minute…did you just tell me to _sex it up_?"

"Yes." Hotch replied calmly. "He likes beautiful women. You are a beautiful woman. Let's use that to our advantage. Let your hair down, undo a few buttons…"

"I think I can handle the transformation without any of your advice," Dani shot back, then asked slyly, "Is this really an interrogation technique or just a chance for you to sneak a peak down my shirt?"

Raising both eyebrows at her, he asked knowingly, "Would I really have to go to such great lengths for you to let me look down your shirt?"

Grinning in spite of herself, she answered saucily, "Aren't we a little full of ourselves this afternoon, Agent Hotchner?" before disappearing back down the hall to take his advice.

They had picked up Capitol Moving and Storage employee Vincent Matthews after learning from Garcia that he had a connection to each of Casanova's victims. Not only did Pippa Rodriguez and Mary Jane Capaldi use the services of Capitol Moving and Storage Company, but young Carrie Ann Southard did as well. And in the last eight months both Leslie Rosenthal and Kristen Miles moved into offices whose companies used Capitol Moving. Digging a little deeper, Garcia also found that Theresa DeMarco rented a unit from them and the two remaining women both were acquainted with people who used their services…Samantha Gaine's sister moved from DC to Boston and Allison Stewart's boyfriend moved into a swanky new condo in Kenyon Square. And there was only one employee who was involved in every one of these moves AND occasionally worked the counter at the storage site…

"Better?"

Hotch looked up again and was stunned to see that Dani had taken his advice. Her long, dark red waves were set from free from where they were previously encased in a ponytail and were now flowing softly around her freshly made up face. Instead of undoing a couple of buttons, though, the sexy detective had changed her shirt completely and was now wearing a form fitting, white tank top that showed just the right amount of cleavage and hugged every curve to perfection. Trying like hell not to stare at the spattering of freckles on her exposed upper chest, Hotch cleared his throat and stuttered, "You look…very nice."

"Nice?" Dani asked, giving him a knowing look. "Pick your jaw up off the floor, Hotchner…we've got an interview to conduct."

Standing up and falling into step with her as they walked down the hallway to where Miles was sweating it in the interrogation room, Hotch suddenly felt the need to warn her, "We don't want to spook him, so you might want to tread lightly…"

"I was done treading lightly about six missing women ago," she answered, looking straight ahead and not glancing over at him. "Now I'm strapping on the stilettos."

Before Hotch could say anything else, they had arrived at the interrogation room door and Dani pushed it open. She walked into the little room, followed closely by Hotch, and evaluated the man opposite her as she sat down at the metal table. Tall, bleached-blonde spiky hair, dark stubble. His posture was relaxed, but there was a distinctive wariness around the man's eyes. Being left alone in the interrogation room for an hour didn't appear to have rattled him; he sat with his chair tilted against the wall. It wasn't too surprising; two stints in prison for robbery and sexual assault would have hardened him.

"How do you know Pippa Rodriguez, Mr. Matthews?"

"Please, call me Vincent." There was a slight leering nature to the way Matthews looked at Dani as he spoke. He liked beautiful woman and he thought the detective sitting across the table from him was stunning. Grinning at her, he added, "Vinnie, to my friends."

Dani did her best to ignore the way Vincent Matthews was blatantly checking her out and reminded the suspect who had the upper hand when she repeated, "How do you know Pippa Rodriguez, Mr. Matthews?"

Matthews nonchalantly shifted his chair back onto all four feet and smiled as he asked innocently, "Who?"

Hotch pulled a photo out of the folder he had placed on the desk and slid the photo towards Vincent. "Pippa Rodriguez."

The man picked up the photo and made a pretense of studying it, before throwing it back on the table. "Sorry, don't know her." He leered again and added, "Wouldn't kick her out of bed on a cold night though."

"We have a witness who can place you at Ms. Rodriguez's residence two weeks ago."

"Really?" The man leaned back, smiling and raising his eyebrows. "I find that hard to believe."

"Why is that, Mr. Matthews?"

The creep leaned in towards Hotch and flicked the photo at him. "Because I have never _met_ Ms. Rodriguez, and anyone who said that I had would be lying."

"Let's try a different tactic then, shall we?" Dani suggested quickly, picking up the folder and pulling out the photos of the five other women who were still missing. "Mary Jane Capaldi…your employment schedule shows that you helped move her into a townhouse off Senate Square nine months ago. This is Leslie Rosenthal…witnesses from her office state that you were seen carrying boxes into her office seven months ago. And then we have Kristin Miles…it seems you helped this pretty lady move into her new office, too." Continuing to flip through the photographs with more force, Dani's voice remained steady as she continued, "This is Samantha Gaines…in an interesting new twist, you helped her sister move OUT of the area. And here we have Theresa DeMarco. Did you know that there were surveillance cameras at the storage units where you work the counter? Because if you did, you were stupid enough to be seen helping Miss DeMarco with the lock on her unit back in November."

Matthews didn't even blink before he replied, "Not possible."

Hotch opened the other folder he had brought into the room with him and said, "Well then maybe you'll remember these two women…Carrie Ann Southard and Allison Stewart."

He dropped the photographs on the table in front of Matthews. Death in all its graphic glory, shown from every angle. Nothing hidden, all revealed. He watched Matthews' reaction, a flicker of something that was quickly suppressed; too quickly for him to determine what it was.

Matthews' lips twitched into a smile. "Not so pretty as them others, are they?"

Dani didn't know whether it was the answer or the smile that set her off, but that was the moment when she lost it.

"Tell me where they are!" Dani demanded, slamming her fist down on the table.

From behind the glass of the observation, Rossi deadpanned, "I guess Detective Callahan is taking over the role of bad cop."

"Do you think she's okay to be in there?" Prentiss asked, exchanging a worried look with JJ.

"You wanna tell her she can't be?" Mickey asked the agents and smirked when they all shook their heads. "My girl has been on this case from day one. There is nothing in this world that could stop her from being a part of this interview. Trust her…she's good. I've worked dozens of interviews with her and it may look like she's losing her cool, but she's got it under control."

Back in the interrogation room, Dani took a deep breath and steadied herself as she asked, "Alright, Vincent, listen to me. Where are these women?"

Her eyes bore into his with such a cold ferocity, it made Hotch feel uncomfortable. But Vincent Matthews just smiled and looked at her.

"I told you I don't know what you are talking about."

"Would it help if I called you Casanova?" The redheaded detective asked slyly, looking for any sign of recognition on his smug face. "The great lover?"

"Casanova, huh?" Matthews asked, interest showing in his face. "Is that what you think of me?"

"That's what you seem to think of yourself." Hotch remarked dryly, showing him the letter and the postcard.

But Vincent Matthews was not interested in anything Hotch had to say. In fact, he was not interested in anything but Dani.

"I was talking to Detective Callahan, here." Matthews practically growled at Hotch. Turning his focus back to Dani, he reached over and traced his index finger slowly down the back of her hand as he asked, "So detective, why don't you tell me what you need from me?"

Dani shuddered involuntarily and snatched her hand away. Knowing that she needed keep a handle on the situation, the redheaded detective tried to ignore Frye's blatant flirting. He wasn't the first suspect to hit on her and unfortunately he wouldn't be the last. Some female detectives might flirt back to try and get a confession out of a suspect, but not Dani.

There were just some lines she refused to cross.

And knowing what he may have done to those women…Dani felt sick to her stomach.

"Come on detective," urged Matthews. "Tell me what you need."

"How about a full confession?"

"To what?"

"Kidnapping, rape, and murder?" Dani asked, almost sweetly.

"Whoa!" Vincent exclaimed, moving his chair back in surprise. "What the hell is this bitch talking about?"

"C'mon Matthews, let's not play games." Hotch cut in, "I mean, look at these women. How could you resist them? They're stunning. And smart. And talented…"

"And a little too far out of your league." Dani added, moving away from the table to lean against the wall. Crossing her arms over her chest, she simply glared at Matthews.

"All you had to do was get them to a place where you were on a more even playing field. So you took them. We know that, Vincent. You are the only person who has interacted with all eight of these women. We've got a DNA match from the lab. Don't you watch TV, Vincent? Any good criminal knows that we can track you down with the smallest bit of evidence. See, you weren't quite as careful as you thought…you left a hair behind. Probably when Pippa Rodriguez fought against you. But, then again, that's what attracted her to you in the first place, isn't it? It's what attracted you to all of your victims…they're fighters." Hotch told him calmly, measuring his reaction. "But you only killed two of them. Which means that the other six are out still there somewhere. Alive. We know you don't want to kill them…you want to keep them. But we can make a deal, Vincent. I can help you. All you have to do is confess."

Matthews watched Hotch for a moment and then looked over to a seething Dani. Finally pasting a smug look on his face, he said, "There's nothing to confess to. You have no evidence that I killed anyone. And I want a lawyer."

"Those women are out there, and we'll find them." Dani informed him. Her face was stone. Emotionless, yet bubbling just below the surface Hotch could detect all of her anger and hatred. "We have cops, dogs, and paramedics searching with or without your help."

Matthews stood up and turned towards the door. "Well you haven't been too successful so far, have ya? But you have fun trying."

"But we've got you now. We'll find your hide out and we'll turn your life upside down to do it. Got any other secrets, _Vinnie_?" Dani taunted him, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she said his name. Moving closer and leaning over the table, she sneered, "'Cause they're about to come to light."

"Is that a threat?" Vincent asked, looking back at Hotch. "Did you hear her just threaten me?"

But it was Dani who answered him.

"A threat?" She let out a deep throated laugh and then told him, "No. A threat would be more like... '_If you stonewall this investigation any more, Agent Hotchner is gonna break your jaw. And when you're on the ground, I'm gonna kick you 'till you spit blood, you stupid son of a bitch.' _" Looking him dead in the eye, she added, "That would be a threat."

"Too bad," Matthews snarled, "Because there's nothing in life I enjoy quite so much as being threatened by a beautiful woman."

"Except for maybe keeping them as slaves..."

"I asked for a lawyer."

"Really," Dani lied, her anger getting the best of her, "because I don't remember hearing that."

"You bitch!"

Before either Hotch or Dani knew what was happening, Matthews was up out of his seat and lunging at Dani. His large muscular arms reached out and he tried his best to drive his ham like fists into her pretty face. But he had messed with the wrong detective and before Hotch could even get around the table, Dani drove the palm of her left hand into his upper chest, just below his throat and then delivered a heavy blow to his gut with her right. And then in one swift, deft motion, the petite detective had Vincent Matthews on the floor with his hands pinned behind his back. She put one of her knees on his back and smiled deviously and pure hatred filled her eyes as she whispered, "You're not as tough as you thought you were, are you big boy?"

It took a minute for Mickey and Morgan to enter the room because there was a momentary shock from seeing Dani dispatch the subject so easily.

"Get this bitch off of me!" Vincent Matthews screamed, his cheek pressed to the dirty linoleum of the interrogation room floor.

The three men in the room moved forward, but Dani's face was livid as she yelled, "Where are they?"

"I don't know, and I couldn't care less."

"WHERE ARE THEY?"

"Get him up!" Hotch commanded, as Mickey and Morgan dragged Matthews off the floor. When Dani turned around to stare at him in disbelief, he reminded her calmly, "He asked for a lawyer."

"Which is a hell of a lot more than Allison or Carrie Ann got!" she shot back at Hotch, then turned to Matthews again and hissed, "You tell me where they are or I'll feed you to the wolves."

"Somewhere you'll never find them." Matthews told her quietly, fighting against the grip Morgan and Santos had on him.

Dani didn't even flinch as she spat out, "You know what they do to cowards like you down in lock up? Pathetic freaks who don't have the guts or the balls to know what to do with a real woman."

Matthews practically snarled and Hotch physically placed himself between the female detective and the suspect, but Dani continued to torment him by saying, "All I have to do is let the boys down there know what you've done. How you keep these women as sex slaves because no woman in the real world would ever look twice at you. And then they'll take it from there…"

"Take him down to lock up." Hotch told him, motioning for the officers to come in.

"For what?"

"Well, mostly for being a son of a bitch." Mickey informed him. "But legally for assaulting a police officer."

"She hit me first!" he screeched, looking wildly at the tall detective. "You got to have video of that, right?"

"Yeah...we all saw how you were taken down by a supermodel half your size." Morgan taunted him, nodding up to the security camera. "Shall we play it again?"

"We can hold you for 72 hours for threatening Detective Callahan." Hotch informed him, crossing his amrs and narrowing his gaze at Matthews, "72 long hours. Just in case you change your mind and decide to be cooperative."

As Matthews was being led out of the room, he called out to Dani as she was picking up some paperwork off the table. "Detective."

"What?"

"Tonight, while I'm laying in my cell," Vincent Matthews drawled, looking her over once more and winking as he was being led out of the room, "I'll being thinking about you."


	10. Chapter 9

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Chapter Nine

"_Nothing is as frustrating as arguing with someone who knows what he's talking about." _~ Sam Ewing

_Hours later…_

"Dani, you still with us? Dan, wake up."

Dani opened her eyes, blinked a few times and glanced around the squad room. Recovering quickly, she lied, "I wasn't sleeping."

Mickey chuckled at her said, "You haven't slept in so long that you don't even remember what sleeping is."

Leaning over her desk, she asked in a low voice, "Did I snore?"

Throwing a balled up piece of paper at her, he joked, "I'll never tell. But you might just want to wipe that drool off your lip."

Her hand instinctively went up to her mouth and Mickey laughed even harder when his partner scowled at him.

Coming up to Dani's desk, Isaac Kellerman sat himself down on a stack of her files and teased, "I've just been informed that you're spending too much time here. The Commissioner has decided to charge you rent."

"Tell him to take it out of my overtime pay." Dani shot back, trying to pull a file out from under his butt, and then added sarcastically, "Oh wait, I forgot there is none."

Lifting up one cheek so that she could retrieve the file she was after, he looked down on her and asked, "Rough interrogation?"

Groaning, she opened up her file and muttered, "Not you too, Kellerman."

"Don't worry," he said defensively, grinning at her, "I'm just saying…I'm surprised you didn't pull your gun on him."

Dani opened her mouth to answer quickly, but then stopped to think for a moment. Finally, she cocked her head to the side and told him, "You know what…me too."

And then, unable to help himself, Kellerman asked, "You sure you're okay, though? I mean…you dropped him before he was able to touch you, right? You're not hurt?"

"Do I look hurt to you, Isaac?"

"No." he answered quickly, getting off her desk and backing away with a smirk, "Unless I'm mistaken, that's your angry face."

Shaking her head at him, Dani opened the file on her desk and tried to ignore Mickey's concerned gaze. Looking over at the conference room where the BAU was working, she stood up and headed in their direction.

"Have a nice nap?" Rossi asked when she appeared in the doorway.

She scowled at him the same way she had just scowled at Mickey as Hotch said, "You really should go home and get some sleep. I don't think that Matthews' is going to change his mind anytime soon."

"Two girls are dead, I'm not going anywhere." Dani shot back, moving over to the table and looking over Morgan's shoulder at the file he was looking at.

Grinning up at her, he asked, "You're kinda pushy, aren't you?"

"You'll get used to it."

"Actually, I'm glad you're here," Rossi said, looking up at her. "I want to ask you a few questions about the notes in these files."

Glancing at the file he was referring to, she told him pointedly, "You already know everything in these files. Ypu've practically studied them as much as I have. What do you need from me?"

"What I have access to in these files are the words you put down on paper." the older agent informed her, "What I need is access to is what you were thinking when you wrote them down."

"Well, I was thinking it sucks that Allison's father isn't going to be able to walk her down the aisle." Dani told him, crossing her arms over her chest and leveling Rossi with her eyes, "And I was thinking that there's no mortician on the planet that could make Carrie Ann's 48 stab wounds disappear so she could have a decent funeral. I was also thinking that they were both probably alive long enough to watch him pull out their insides!" Realizing that her voice had gone up a few octaves and not caring, she continued, "And you know what…nobody cared about access to my thinking when the FBI yanked this case from me!"

"We didn't take this case away from you," Prentiss reminded her quietly, "You're still the primary."

"Well, a lot of good that did me today! I went into that interrogation room with someone who wasn't my partner!" Dani raged, looking pointedly at Hotch. "You don't mess with partners, you know? We have a rapport…"

"That interview would have gone the same way no matter who was in the room with you." Reid told her, glancing at Hotch…who never lifted his eyes from his work. "Vincent Matthews wasn't going to confess."

"Well, I guess we'll never know."

Rossi allowed her to calm down for a minute and then simply deduced, "You're just pissed. And that's okay, because you're not angry at us. You're pissed at Casanova. And probably at yourself because you haven't been able to catch him yet. So it's just easier to take it out on us because to you…we represent your failure. If you had caught Casanova after the first woman was taken, your lieutenant would never have had to call us in. But we're not here because you're not good enough…we're here because he's too good. And you need to remember that or none of us are ever going to catch him."

"I really hate profilers." Dani muttered. She then took a deep breath and pursed her lips as she looked around the table at all of the agents who were trying so hard not to look at her before she added, "I mean it, I really don't like you. Any of you."

"Yes, you do." Rossi said with a chuckle.

"Okay, so maybe I do." Dani relented, avoiding looking at Hotch. "But don't let that get around…I have a reputation to protect."

Before anyone could say anything else, Mickey appeared at the door and said apprehensively to his partner, "Jacobi wants to see you upstairs. And he doesn't sound happy."

Letting out another deep breath, Dani swore incoherently under her breath and headed upstairs without looking back at any of them.

"Was she always this way?" Morgan asked Santos as he turned to leave.

Tearing his worried gaze away from the door to his lieutenant's office, Mickey turned back to them and confirmed, "Always. But this time…" He shook his head as he added, "This is not going to be pretty." Looking back at the BAU, he got back to business and told them, "Can you guys come on out to the bullpen? The uniforms brought some interesting stuff back from Vincent Matthews' apartment and you might want to take a look."

Upstairs in Lieutenant Martin Jacobi's office, Dani opened the door and braced herself for the inevitable. She felt like she was seven years old all over again and being called in to the principal's office. Lt. Jacobi was on the phone when she entered and he motioned for her to come all the way into the office.

Hanging up the phone, the seasoned police officer gave his prized detective the once over before he informed her coldly, "I just got off the phone with Vincent Matthews' lawyer. Did he or did he not request to speak to his attorney at any point during your interview?"

"I…" she began, but Jacobi quickly cut her off.

"And remember, before you say anything, I have a recording of the entire interrogation at my disposal."

Licking her lips, Dani replied, "I know I went a little too far…"

"A little too far?" Jacobi raged, his cool and calm demeanor gone out the window. "You had a suspect who had already lawyered up on the floor! If this son of a bitch decides to sue the department…"

"Oh, cut the crap Marty!" Dani burst out, stepping forward to meet his tirade, "This is unbelievable! You're worried about Vincent Matthews' rights now? He has murdered two women…"

"You don't know that!" he yelled back and then slammed his hands on his desk. Calming himself down, he sat back in his chair and told her, "Ever since you were a kid, Mary Daniella, you have been cranky when you haven't slept."

"Mary Daniella?" she asked, referring to her given name. "You haven't called me that in a long time"

"That's because I haven't needed to." he told her, looking at her through the wire rimmed glasses that were perched on his nose, "You've behaved yourself since transferring down here from New York. Did your job, closed all your cases…"

"And now?"

"I fought for you, Callahan," he warned her, taking a professional tone once again, "This guy is threatening to take this to the Commissioner's office, but I think I talked him down for now. This could have been a lot worse than it is, but next time I might not be so lucky."

"Okay…"

" No, Dani," he told her coldly, "the correct answer is _'there won't be a next time_.'"

Dani shifted uncomfortably as Jacobi continued, "I get up every day and have to believe that I do what I do better than anyone in the world. That's why I'm sitting in this chair despite living over a heroin dealership in South Central L.A. for most of my youth. But you, little one, you demand perfection of yourself like no one I have ever seen. And there is not a damn thing that anyone can do to change that for you."

"I have never claimed to be a perfect person." she told him, his even tone making her uneasy.

"I know you don't want to be a perfect person," Jacobi answered, "You want to be a perfect cop. And you're not. Because there is no such thing. But, even if you were, Dani, you'd still feel bad right now."

When she looked at him with uncertainty, he explained, "I know that you identify with these women and I know that you would go to the ends of the earth to find them. Which tells me that you are too close to this case. You made a rookie mistake today and I had to clean it up. Now, I can do that. I can clean up any mess that you make, because I am good at my job. But I can't have my lead detective getting personally involved in this case. Some people might find your compassion to be your greatest strength, but I am not one of those people. Because I know that in this job…it will lead to your greatest downfall."

"Look, Marty…"

"No," he interrupted forcefully, "I am tired of having this conversation with you. You think you're safe out there because of that gun on your hip? Or that extra one you've got strapped to your skinny little calf." When she blinked at him in disbelief, he added, "Oh yeah, I know you're packing. There is a psychopath out there that has murdered two women that we know of and I need you on top of your game."

Dani opened her mouth to protest, but the lieutenant was not done yelling at her.

"You wanna work yourself into the ground…fine. You wanna sit home every weekend…fine. I might think it's sad and stupid, but that's your business!" Jacobi was up out of his chair again and Dani actually had to take a step back because of the force of his rage, "But this case and this squad…they are my business! You are my business!"

"You are not my father!" she shouted back at him, frustrated beyond the breaking point.

"No, I'm not your father," Jacobi agreed in anger, "But I was his partner. And I'm not about to call that man and tell him that you're dead because you were too exhausted to do your job! I made a call like that to him once already on the night your mother died and I am not doing it again!"

Realizing that he had backed her into a corner while yelling at her, Jacobi took a step back. The pair stared hard at each other and this time it was Jacobi who was the first to look away. Going back behind his desk, he told her firmly, "Look, you want to get yourself killed, you do it on somebody else's watch. I am still your lieutenant…your boss. Which doesn't always mean a whole hell of a lot to you, but it's going to this time." Shuffling some papers on his desk, he finished with the final blow, "You are relieved of duty, Detective Callahan."

"You're pulling me from this case?" she exclaimed incredulously.

"For the next 12 hours." He said matter of factly, "Go home."

"That is not fair…"

"I'm done with fair." Jacobi interrupted without looking up from his computer. "Get out of my squad room."

"No, No!" She protested, her eyes wild in anger. "You can't do this to me!"

"I can," he reminded her, "and I have."

"I have done everything you asked of me!" Dani shouted at him, enraged that he was doing this to her. "I followed all the rules…I played nice with the BAU. Hell, I've even been profiled by two of them already…which is not as much fun as it sounds. I went into that interview with Hotchner instead of Mickey and I…"

"Go home."

"I'm not tired!"

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that." Jacobi shot back. Finally turning back to look at her, he stated, "Honestly, I don't care what you do. Have a glass of wine…or two. Take a hot bath. Have some hot and crazy sex, if that will help you decompress. But do it somewhere else. You are not to set foot in this building until your shift begins tomorrow at 9:00 a.m."

Dani simply stood there, dumbfounded. When her lieutenant looked up at her again, he said quietly, "You're dismissed."

If looks could kill, Lieutenant Martin Jacobi would be dead right now. But, without saying another word, Dani turned and left his office. As she was headed down the stairs to a bullpen full of cops and FBI agents who had clearly heard the entire encounter, the defiant detective heard her boss call out from behind her, "And don't you dare contact any member of this squad for updates on the case." When she turned around to give him an icy stare, Jacobi simply stood his ground and repeated one last time, "Go home!"

Mickey was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, the concern shining in his eyes. He put his hand on her arm and said quietly, "Dan, let me drive you home…"

But Mickey was not the man she was looking for at that moment. Stepping past her caring partner, the redhead marched right over to Hotch and asked angrily, "You sold me out?"

He narrowed his eyes at her and said slowly, "No…"

"Well *_someone_* told my lieutenant that I needed to decompress," Dani interrupted hotly, gesturing around the squadroom, "and I know it wasn't any of my guys."

"He asked me about your behavior during the interview…" he told her carefully, but apparently he chose the wrong words.

"So you sold me out." she concluded, interrupting his explanation again. Now it was Dani's turn to narrow her eyes as she hissed, "You son of a bitch."

"Dani…"

"I trusted you!" she spat out, her voice tinged with hurt and anger. "So everyone's concerns about me must be justified…my judgment must be seriously impaired because I thought you were one of the good guys."

Mickey was quickly at her side, trying to help her avoid a scene by whispering, "Dani…come on. You're just tired. Why don't you let me take you home…what do you think is going to happen here while you're gone?"

But Dani wasn't worried about avoiding anything. Still glaring at Hotch, she added meanly, "You're nothing but another self-absorbed FBI suit."

Without giving him another chance to explain, she slammed over to her desk and grabbed her keys before heading out to the locker rooms. Hotch hesitated for only a moment before he put down his file and walked out after her, not caring who saw him.

He caught up to her in a few long strong strides, calling out, "Hey!"

Hotch reached out to take her arm, but she spun around and shrugged off his advances, hissing, "Leave me alone!"

"You want to take this out on me? Fine. I can be your punching bag, if that's what you need." The handsome agent told her forcefully, causing her to stop for a minute. When she looked back up at him, he continued in a softer tone, "But you were not wrong in trusting me."

"Why should I trust you, huh?" Dani challenged him. "Despite what you may think you know about me, I don't even know you!"

"No, you don't," Hotch informed her calmly, "because if you did, you'd know I am not giving up. I am just getting started. I have as much invested in this case as you do."

"No. You. Don't." she returned angrily.

He didn't answer her that time because in truth, she was right. So he simply reached into his jacket pocket and took out a card. He turned it over to write something on the back before handing it to her. "Here," he said quietly, "Take this."

"What is this?"

"My cell number." Hotch informed her. When she raised her eyebrow at him in confusion, he explained, "I know you're not going to make it 12 hours without wanting some information. So if you call me, you aren't really going against Jacobi's orders…"

"…because you're not a member of *_this_* squad." she finished for him, looking up in relief.

"Go home." Hotch told her, but not with the same force as Jacobi had, "Have a drink. Take a hot bath. Get some sleep. But don't have any hot and crazy sex, because I might get jealous. And then I'll get sent home for not being able to focus on my work." When she looked up at him and smiled at his teasing, he actually returned her smile with one of his own. A true, genuine Hotch smile. Trying to ease her mind, he said reassuringly, "We'll hold down the fort till you get back. And if we get a break, I'll let you know."

"Thanks, Hotchner," Dani told him earnestly, but the glint was back in her eye instantly as she added sarcastically, "But for the record, I still think you're a suit."

"And I still think you're a pain in the ass." Hotch shot back before turning to walk back to the squad room. But he paused momentarily to see that she was still watching him, so he winked at her and teased, "Apology accepted."


End file.
